Best RV Parks & Resorts near Essex, MA

We rolled in at 6:30, and Shawn had us ready with full RV hookups at our site in 10 minutes. Level sites witg fire pits. Views were gorgeous. Easy walk to restaurants. Friendly neighboring campers.

This Campground was great long term as an RV camping experience, or short term in a tent.

We had tried to book a site at the campground twice through Thousand Trails and were assigned sites that did not fit our fifth wheel. Both times, the campground called us and cancelled because we didn’t fit in the sites that Thousand Trails had put us in. 😳 So, I called Thousand Trails and explained what was happening and was told they couldn’t do anything about it because their system showed we fit in those sites. 🙄 I then called Tuxbury back directly and they told me that they would contact Thousand Trails and let them know their system was incorrect, which they did. I received a call back afterwards from the campground letting me know they had me reserved for the correct site for our RV size. She had told me that this happens often there. We have a 35’ fifth wheel and TT was putting us in sites in section H. These sites are too small and hook-ups are on the wrong side. The correct sites are section J. Section J sites are large pull-through sites and very comfortable. I hope this helps anyone that goes through this scheduling nightmare! Otherwise, the staff was friendly and helpful. The park itself is old and a bit rundown. We were there for over a week in July and grounds were not mown once. It was overgrown and definitely needs some love. They do have a lot of amenities/activities for the whole family. One last note is that this campground is a golf-cart racetrack! Underage kids on golf-carts racing around and yelling a lot at all hours! We’re not sure what it was about and seems to be a frequent issue in New England campgrounds. 😬😬

For campground reviews and more, check out our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

Consider the Thousand Trails membership when booking this site. Our annual membership fees basically covered what it would cost to camp here for two weeks.

The campground has good proximity to Orchard Beach and Portland. However, the spots are pretty tight, and the WiFi is awful away from the registration office. We were in the wooded area, but those camping on the outskirts seemed able to utilize their Starlink.

The dog park and pool were small but nice. The bathroom facilities were pretty good, though they weren't cleaned as often as they should be.

If you are looking for a New England oceanfront RV park, this is a great choice. It is basically a parking lot, but with full hookups and on the ocean. The ocean breezes are fantastic. One side of the campground is bordered by an inlet that fishing boats use to head out from the harbor. Another side is sand dunes, that are the south end of Hampton beach. You can't see the open ocean from the camp site, but you can see the inlet and walk right out onto the beach. It is really hard to find a beach campground with elbow room and full hookups. This is a great one. It is very difficult to get reservations as it is extremely popular.

Friendly staff, hard gravel access roads, level gravel sites. No issues with electric, sewer or water hookups. Some of the best clear, clean, drinking water at high pressure we have come across. Great access to beaches, numerous eateries and shopping minutes away. This is our second time we have been here and here for the month of September.

I would reccomend Seacoast RV Park to other campers.

This is mostly an Rv Park. Really nice for RV, Van or trailers

It’s a 50 site campground and built 20 years ago, so it’s cozy small sites in some spots. But for the money of your from out of state it’s cheaper then the state park down the street and it has full hook-ups with laundry, showers and a heated pool when the ocean is colder then you want. They assist you in getting into your cement pad site and guide you down to your site. 

Even though the sites are small in spots the people are friendly and very welcoming. We meet some seasonal campers that were very friendly and informative about the area. Great location from the ocean and some nice towns to visit. Boston and Salem are very close and you can take a train which is only 5 minutes away from the campground. 

Campground is very clean and well kept. Pool is very nice to hangout and cool off. Showers are not free, but for a the money you get plenty of time to shower off. Bathroom is very clean and maintained.  Owners and hosts where friendly and helpful with thing to do in the area and where to eat for the best New England seafood restaurants. Highly recommend checking the place out if your looking to stay in the area.

Beach Rose RV Park in Salisbury, Massachusetts is a small, friendly, family-owned campground near the beach. The staff was very accommodating and went out of their way to find us a spot on a busy holiday weekend due to a campground mishap. The park is very clean and they have a nice swimming pool and amenities. The dog park area was large and shady, but a lot of mosquitos. You are pretty close to your neighbors, but the sites do accommodate bigger rigs because of the length. The sites are 30/50 amp FHU and wifi was decent. The best thing about Beach Rose RV Park is the proximity to the beach and town. Who doesn’t love a day at the beach? 💗😬👍🏻

For videos on this campground and others, check out our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

We planned a brief stop in the Boston area with the intent of seeing the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and Normandy Farms appealed to us for various reasons. One reason was the fact that they have dog walkers that will come to your site and take care of your precious pooch while you are away. Not knowing how long we would be away from the campground that service was a great option. As it turned out, we did not need to use this service but for some it would be a great perk if you were going to be gone all day. And with Boston traffic, we can see how that could happen. By the way, the library is well-worth it.

When you enter Normandy Farms it is more like checking into a hotel than campground complete with a concierge and express check-in. The park is gated and a code is needed to enter and leave giving you a sense of security but I’m not sure it is necessary. Driving in you quickly realize how huge this park is with some 400 RV sites, tent sites, yurts, lean-to’s, safari tents, and cabins. 

There are plenty of sites to choose from the “premium” full hook-up (50 amp) to basic with just water and electric and many others in between. Both back-in and pull thrus are available as are sites with shade and full sun. Premium sites have paved patios while other sites are gravel. Roads are paved and plenty wide enough for big RV’s to navigate. They offer cable television that yielded nearly 100 channels. Wifi worked well at our site and other places throughout the park. All sites come with a fire pit and picnic table. 

We chose a paved full hook-up pull thru with paved patio (Site E1). Our site was easy to navigate in and out of and was definitely big rig-friendly with ample space for our motorhome and tow car. All utilities were well-placed and functioned properly. The site was level. At the time we were there in October the campground was not very busy but we imagine that things get a little crazy when the park is full. 

There is a really long list of amenities for this campground….four pools (include an indoor heated one), fitness room (with elliptical, treadmills, bikes, machine and free weights), creative arts center, camp store, 20,000 square-foot activities building (with adult only lounge, pool table, arcade, games, wide-screen televisions, sauna, Jacuzzi), restaurant, huge off-leash dog park (you can reserve individual day kennels), BMX bike park, horse shoe pits, baseball diamond, volleyball, fishing pond, shuffleboard, disk golf, and playground, and probably a few more things I missed. During the busy summer months there is a long list of activities ranging from yoga to kids games.

Normandy Farms is approximately 35 miles from Boston. If you don’t want to drive to the city, you can park at the nearby train or subway station and ride into the city. You are just five miles from Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots) and Patriot Place (a hub for shopping and dining). About a mile from the campground is Foxboro State Park where you will find 20+ miles of hiking trails. Also within a five mile radius are plenty of restaurants, shopping, hardware store, grocery store, and more. 

Some of the really good features are the huge dog park which has a dog washing station, water fountains for dogs and humans, agility-type obstacles for them to play on, dog kennels, and a bin with balls and Frisbees. I also liked (and used daily) the fitness center which had functioning equipment and a large television to help pass the time while working out – and was never crowded. The large community building has and adult-only lounge which serves as a nice place for people to get together and watch television or hang out without kids. With everything this campground has to offer you can see why it is a destination park for some people as their kids would be busy all day. 

The downside really is the price and how many sites there are. If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful getaway this is not it.

A small but trees all around rv park. This is no thrills with basic WiFi. It is about 10 min walk to short sands beach in York. There is plenty to do there and nice to be so close but feel away from it all.

We stayed for two nights at Wakeda with our travel trailer. The paved roads were a plus, as was a very level campsite. The majority of campers seemed to be there for the season and were their own little community. 

Our full hookup site was very close to other sites, so unfortunately we had to deal with some noise issues. We could hear our neighbors loudly talking at 2 AM, and also were treated to the sound of the same neighbor's dog barking for hours during the when they left him alone. That being said, this was not the fault of the campground itself.

Wakeda's proximity to Hampton Beach was awesome -- a less than 15-minute drive for us. We also enjoyed the dog park. It was spacious and well maintained.

We really liked this park! It was clean, very well cared for, supper nice people and a decent price($43/night) for camping in coastal New England. The park recently added new 50-amp full hook-up sites (some of which are pull-thrus) so there are plenty of options for big-rigs. Half of the park is seasonal campers (which is a lot more cramped and more junked up) and the other half is for transients. The two sides are separated by a tree line where the tent sites are located. The park is in a good location and pretty close to the beach, restaurants, shopping and access to Route 1. You are also just twenty minutes or so to Portsmouth and Newburyport which are some of our favorite New England coastal towns. 

Our site (#124) was one of the new sites which they had just completed. It was a gravel back-in which was plenty long and level. They recently seeded the area so new grass was starting to grow. The roads in the park are fairly narrow and we had to drive over the grass across from our site in order to back in. Lucky for us nobody was parked in that site. We hate driving over grass as our coach can really make some ruts, but we had no choice in this situation. The ground was dry and hard so we didn’t make deep ruts. The park does not have cable and we were not able to get reception on our satellite because of the trees and could not get any over-the-air channels. No television was fine because we enjoyed sitting by a campfire after our long day of exploring. We had a picnic table that was kind of small if you had 4-6 people but fine for just two of us. Our firepit was a light weight portable one which we could move. The older sites had heavy fire rings that were not to be moved. None of the sites have a lot of space between them and I bet this park could feel quite cramped when it was full. We were there in the off-season (May) and didn’t have any neighbors so it was pretty quiet. 

There are not too many amenities in the park which was fine for us since we really don’t use them. There was a very large playground, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard, basketball, and camp store. This park really cares about appearance and grounds-keeping is top notch. Our site had a nice grassy space with a small garden planted with flowers. The laundry was very nice, clean and had big front-loading machines. Check-in was super easy and fast. All the staff were very nice. 

About 5 miles to the east is Hampton Beach and a little farther is the town of Rye which are worth the drive. There we discovered Ray’s Seafood and Petey’s Summertime Seafood where you can get a great meal right next to the water. After lunch pop over to Wallis Sand Beach for an afternoon relaxing by the sea. We love visiting the Kittery Trading Post (in Maine) which is a good outdoor outfitter and eating at Bob’s Clam Hut.

We really liked this park! It was clean, very well cared for, supper nice people and a decent price ($43/night) for camping in coastal New England. The park recently added new 50 amp full hook-up sites(some of which are pull-thrus) so there are plenty of options for big-rigs. Half of the park is seasonal campers(which is a lot more cramped and more junked up) and the other half is for transients. The two sides are separated by a tree line where the tent sites are located. The park is in a good location and pretty close to the beach, restaurants, shopping and access to Route 1. You are also just twenty minutes or so to Portsmouth and Newburyport which are some of our favorite New England coastal towns. 

Our site (#124) was one of the new sites which they had just completed. It was a gravel back-in which was plenty long and level. They recently seeded the area so new grass was starting to grow. The roads in the park are fairly narrow and we had to drive over the grass across from our site in order to back in. Lucky for us nobody was parked in that site. We hate driving over grass as our coach can really make some ruts, but we had no choice in this situation. The ground was dry and hard so we didn’t make deep ruts. The park does not have cable and we were not able to get reception on our satellite because of the trees and could not get any over-the-air channels. No television was fine because we enjoyed sitting by a campfire after our long day of exploring. We had a picnic table that was kind of small if you had 4-6 people but fine for just two of us. Our firepit was a light weight portable one which we could move. The older sites had heavy fire rings that were not to be moved. None of the sites have a lot of space between them and I bet this park could feel quite cramped when it was full. We were there in the off-season(May) and didn’t have any neighbors so it was pretty quiet. There are not too many amenities in the park which was fine for us since we really don’t use them. There was a very large playground, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard, basketball, and camp store. This park really cares about appearance and grounds-keeping is top notch. Our site had a nice grassy space with a small garden planted with flowers. The laundry was very nice, clean and had big front-loading machines. Check-in was super easy and fast. All the staff were very nice. 

About 5 miles to the east is Hampton Beach and a little farther is the town of Rye which are worth the drive. There we discovered Ray’s Seafood and Petey’s Summertime Seafood where you can get a great meal right next to the water. After lunch pop over to Wallis Sand Beach for an afternoon relaxing by the sea. We love visiting the Kittery Trading Post(in Maine) which is a good outdoor outfitter and eating at Bob’s Clam Hut.

**Campground Review: **

Dixon’s Campground is located on US Route 1 in Cape Neddick, Maine, just minutes from the coast and about an hour south of Portland. Dixson’s Campground is a medium sized private campground that has tent only and water& electric tent/RV sites, as well as three yurts. The campground also has full hook up sites for seasonal guest that sit out on a separate area away from the transit campers. I have included a campground map in my pictures for your orientation. Most sites are wooded with lots of shade. There are a few grass sites with more sun near the office. The sites vary from small and close together to large with some privacy. All style sites include a picnic table and fire ring. 

Check-in was easy and the staff was very helpful in providing info and answering questions about the area. A host guides you to your site and assist you in positioning if needed. The campground is gated and you have to“rent” a swipe card to access the gate for$10 (cash) and you get your$10 back when you return the card at checkout. The roads in the campground are a little skinny so if you have a large trailer you may want to consider your site location appropriately or you may get stuck in a curve or have a challenging time backing into your site. We stayed on site 84 on this visit. The site was level and well shaded, but small yet worked with our teardrop trailer. 

The bathroom were new and very unique here (I have never experienced this style before; see my pictures). The bathroom closest to us had two toilet stalls and two shower stalls each with their own direct outside access. Sinks for hygiene were on one end of the bathroom and sinks designated for dish washing only were on the other side of the building. The Bathrooms and showers were very clean. The showers are metered and cost $0.50 per 5 minutes, so don’t forget your quarters! There is also a trash dumpster and recycle bins at each bathroom. 

Firewood and a small camp store was available at the office. There is a full grocery store about 10 minutes away. 

We found good cell phone service with Verizon throughout the property. The campground did have wi-fi and it worked ok at our site. 

The campground also has a heated pool, playground, and outfitter that provides rentals, lessons, and guides. There is no laundry at the campground, but we found one about 10 minutes away. 

Dixon’s sits between two tourist towns so there is plenty to see, lots of great restaurants, and close to beaches. Many restaurants are dog friendly (at least on the patio) and the beaches at this time of year are dog friendly after 6PM. We really enjoyed walking the beaches and checking out the lighthouses in the area. The only down side of being near two tourist towns is that traffic can get thick at some points in the day. 

We really enjoyed our stay at Dixon’s and the surrounding area to the point we have marked this as a definite stop when we make it back to Maine again.

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**Product Review: **

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tested the Red Ledge Thunderlight Jacket. This rain jacket from Red Ledge is very handy to have in your gear list. It is available in multiple colors (I got black because I somehow get dirty while camping) and is very lightweight. There is no liner so works great in the summertime heat, but is still loose enough to wear a fleece or something underneath. I also like that there are multiple draw strings to tighten up the fit if desired (waist, cuffs, hood, and headband). The pockets are large, deep, and close with zippers. The jacket also comes with a stuff sack so you can roll it up and easily stow it in your day pack or pocket in your car. We did experience light to heavy rain during periods of our stay and the jacket is highly effective and I had no soak throughs even the heaviest rain. I highly recommend this jacket and it’ll be a part of my normal outdoor gear set.